Swayzak

Propaganda-loving Americans are welcome to disagree, but James Taylor's (not that James Taylor) French chateau sounds like a mighty inspiring place to make a record -- if only to those "freedom-hating" citizens who flat-out refuse to rename their deep-fried potatoes. Swayzak, the electronica trio Taylor belongs to, certainly found it adequate. Though not affiliated with the similarly surnamed Dirty Dancing star, Taylor and company lost little sleep over appropriating his cinematic claim to fame for its last album title. Loops From the Bergerie, its followup, continues in the slightly more accessible techno direction that Dancing initiated -- confirmed recently when Motorola licensed one of its tracks, the Depeche Mode-influenced "Speak Easy," for the cell-phone television commercial they shot on a Prague subway train. While permanent group member David "Brun" Brown handles crooning duties on certain tunes, including Bergerie's first single, "Keep It Coming," Bowie-esque guest vocalist Richard Davis is the proud owner of the pipes featured on the "Speak Easy" cut. Warming up party-goers for Swayzak's Church-rattling tonight will be the cold, minimal techno of Detroiter Matthew Dear.